It was a bad day for Deputy Opposition leader and Shadow Foreign Minister Julie Bishop yesterday. Julie let it slip that local intelligence agencies are involved in passport forgery, in a video interview with The Age online. Bishop said it would be naive to think only Israel is involved with passport forgery.
Kevin Rudd is accusing Bishop of breaching national security and the convention that both sides of politics never comment about security agencies activities.
Bishop has now backtracked on her forgery comments, releasing a statement saying:
My responses were referring to the fact that forged Australian passports have been used previously, as noted by the Foreign Minister today.
I have no knowledge of any Australian authority forging any passports of any nation.
So how bad was Julie’s stuff up? Here’s what the pundits are saying:
The Australian
Dennis Shanahan: Libs’ spin on expulsion an abuse of privilege
The last person to abuse such a briefing, and who suffered permanent damage to his credentials as someone who could be trusted to act maturely with such knowledge, was Mark Latham.
Samantha Maiden: Bishop’s passport to rile Labor
Agent provocateur Julie Bishop was declared an enemy of the Labor state in question time yesterday.
The Daily Telegraph
Malcolm Farr: Bishop shops the spies
…Julie Bishop, has put at risk any confidence and trust Australia’s security and intelligence services will have in her—whether she is in Opposition or government. And she probably has compromised a significant element of our diplomatic integrity.
Julie look me in the eye and tell what you’re saying is true.On second thought, oh please no!!! those eyes..
She seems to be taking lessons from Abbott, speaking recklessly in the heat of the moment. I wonder what other clandestine activities she’d like to comment on?
I don’t know what everybody is getting excited about.
She obviously will say anything under pressure ( even very little pressure) and as her leader Tony L’Abbottomy has clearly said how this is perfectly OK. You just then say you didn’t mean & nobody should take what you say for real.
Julie “Eyes of Death” Bishop should be praised for demonstrating her incompetence and unfitness for high office. Just a pity that it has so embarassed the nation but never mind I’m sure Andrew Dolt approves
Oh dear, and the election campaign hasn’t even started.
The key here is the ‘unfit’ to govern epithet.
Each of the coalition’s front line members have, one by one, shot off their own feet.
Abbott has admitted lying and that such ‘inconsistencies’ are okay.
Bishop is now unable to be trusted, and has take a leaf out of Abbott’s ‘in writing’ get-out-clause by denying what she said in an on tape interview in a written press release. It is hilarious that SKY has suggested the press release is a clarifying statement — never mind that it is contrary to what she actually said.
Hockey has provided, via his Finance shadow side-kick, a shoddy set of figures in reply to Swan’s budget, and has since floundered at every turn. You can tell he is dying inside, he is so uncomfortable with everything he is saying and doing.
Dutton buys shares in a company he is supposed to believe will tank because of Labor’s RSPT.
And then we have twits like Bronwyn Bishop and Wilson Tuckey, constantly lecturing the speaker on standing orders (but that is ALL they seem to do).
Heaven help us if this crew got hold of the reins of govt.!